1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer network services and, more particularly, to methods of and systems for computer-based comparison of human individuals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, people prefer to be well-informed when making decisions. Hiring decisions, in particular, can be very difficult because personalities are complex and can be very difficult to understand. It is especially challenging to predict a prospective employee's capacity to perform the requirements of a particular job based on information contained in a self-serving resume and whatever the interviewer may glean from a personal interview. From time to time, however, employers roll the dice and choose a candidate for a professional role with an appreciable degree of uncertainty. The same difficulties exist outside the workplace when anyone needs to hire an expert such as a doctor, a lawyer, a mechanic, or some other professional. Even in social networking, when choosing people as friends or for other relationships, the choice is often influenced by a hunch as much as by intimate knowledge of facts.
Of course, computers provide tremendous advantages in making quick and accurate decisions based on large numbers of facts. However, facts about people tend to be superficial, at best, and also largely confidential. Facts tend to be superficial in that the facts are often demographic in nature or representing public affiliations that say little, if anything, about a person. Such public affiliations can include things like professional and academic associations, activity club memberships and participation in public forums or with various interest groups.
As information about a person becomes more closely tied to the individual, the information becomes more private and privacy concerns interfere with the ability to make a more complete assessment of the person.
What is needed is a computer-based technique for assessing a human personality by comparison of his or her attributes to those of another known person in such a way that protects the privacy of the people involved.